Missing target but hitting cover when shooting into melee!

[Sunglar]

Hello fellow EN Worlders… One quick, and probably dumb question, I remember that in the 3.0 rule set if you shot into melee, your target had cover, and you missed your target but your roll was still high enough to hit the creature offering cover you hit he person/creature offering cover… Is my memory correct? Where is this rule in the 3.5 PHB if at all?

I’m away from home and don’t have my book collection to dig into, and someone asked me this and I can’t remember. Any help is welcome…

Have a good one,

Sunglar

 

[Hypersmurf]

Where is this rule in the 3.5 PHB if at all?

It's no longer a default rule, as it was in 3E.

Instead, you'll find it in the DMG, in the variant rules section.

Under normal 3.5 rules, if you miss due to cover, the attack is simply unsuccessful.

-Hyp.

 

[Sunglar]

Hypersmurf, I bow to your D&Dfu… Thanks for saving me the trip to the bookstore tomorrow. These are the reasons one travels with rulebooks!

 

[Sunglar]

And on a related question (I should be sleeping and getting ready for the meeting tomorrow…) would this rule apply to a whip used to hit a target at a range of 15’in combat with cover? Just wondering what you think!

 

[Hypersmurf]

And on a related question (I should be sleeping and getting ready for the meeting tomorrow…) would this rule apply to a whip used to hit a target at a range of 15’in combat with cover? Just wondering what you think!

If you're using the variant rule in 3.5, it doesn't usually apply to polearms (since they can't attack an adjacent square), but I'd rule it applies to spiked chains and whips, since they're still dangerous in the square the cover occupies.

-Hyp.

 

[Sunglar]

Thanks… My thoughts exactly! Well going to sleep now. I better start counting die…